Futurama Volume 4

Does the final volume go out with a bang?

You don't have to be a fan of Futurama to feel for the show. It met its demise after five seasons and almost as many time/day slot changes and preemptions. No wonder the show couldn't find an audience. The audience couldn't find it!

This fourth and final DVD volume of the series contains three episodes from the shortened fourth season and all but one episode from the fifth season. The Route of All Evil was included on the third season set.

Futurama was the brainchild of Matt Groening, creator of The Simpsons. Set in the year 3000, it featured a pizza delivery man Philip Fry, who'd been cryogenically frozen in 1999 and slept for 1,000 years. He now works for Planet Express, a delivery service, with one-eyed alien Leela, a grumpy robot named Bender, ancient Professor Fansworth, sweet natured Amy and the crustacean Dr. Zoidberg.

The disc contents break down as follows. All are from season five with three exceptions:

Disc OneKif Gets Knocked Up a Notch Leela's Homeworld (season 4) Love and Rocket (season 4) Less Than Hero A Taste of Freedom

Disc TwoBender Should Not Be Allowed on TV Jurassic Bark Crimes of the Hot Teenage Mutant Leela's Hurdles The Why of Fry

Disc ThreeWhere No Fan Has Gone Before (season 4) The Sting Bend Her Obsoletely Fabulous

The final run of Futurama was as sharp as always and consistently funny. Most of the episodes that aired in season five were actually produced for seasons three and four. With 16 episodes to air, all leftovers, and an ever-shuffling schedule, the writing was on the wall.

It's a shame, too. In its final season, the show featured celebrity guest voices that even The Simpsons couldn't top. Most notable was ex-vice president Al Gore playing himself in the episode Crimes of the Hot.

The mutants underground will be crapped on no more.

They also rounded up several members of the original Star Trek cast - William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, Nichelle Nichols, George Takei and Walter Keonig - for the episode Where No Fan Has Gone Before for an episode skewering Trek fanboys.